Snowden's father: Son better off now in Russia

This publicity image released by NBC shows Lon Snowden, father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on the "Today," show in New York on Friday, July 26, 2013. Snowden said there's been a concerted effort by some members of Congress to "demonize" his son. He says lawmakers should be more focused on whether the NSA's collection of the phone records of millions of Americans is constitutional. The House voted 217-205 Wednesday to spare the NSA surveillance program. (AP Photo/NBC, Pete
— AP

This publicity image released by NBC shows Lon Snowden, father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on the "Today," show in New York on Friday, July 26, 2013. Snowden said there's been a concerted effort by some members of Congress to "demonize" his son. He says lawmakers should be more focused on whether the NSA's collection of the phone records of millions of Americans is constitutional. The House voted 217-205 Wednesday to spare the NSA surveillance program. (AP Photo/NBC, Pete
/ AP

MCLEAN, Va.  The father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden said Friday his son has been so vilified by the Obama administration and members of Congress that he is now better off staying in Russia.

Lon Snowden of Allentown, Pa., had been working behind the scenes with lawyers to try to find a way his son could get a fair trial in the U.S. Edward Snowden has been charged in federal court in Alexandria with violating the Espionage Act by leaking details of NSA surveillance.

But in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, the elder Snowden said he has lost faith in recent weeks that his son would be treated fairly by the Justice Department. He now thinks his 30-year-old son is better off avoiding the U.S. if possible until an administration that respects the Constitution comes into office.

"If it were me, knowing what I know now, and listening to advice of sage people like (Pentagon Papers leaker) Daniel Ellsberg ... I would attempt to find a safe haven," Snowden said.

As a military analyst more than four decades ago, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of America's involvement in Vietnam, to major newspapers.

The elder Snowden said he thinks Russia is probably the best place to seek asylum because it is most likely to withstand U.S. pressure. Edward Snowden applied for temporary asylum in Russia last week.

Lon Snowden, a Coast Guard veteran who has worked on national security issues in his career, said he has tremendous faith in the American people and in the Constitution. He said that in a more subdued environment he feels confident that his son could get a fair trial, and the leak would be considered in context of his son's desire to expose a surveillance program that he and others believe exceeds constitutional bounds.

But he said the Justice Department's efforts to pressure other countries to turn over Snowden, coupled with silence from President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder in the face of denunciations leveled by members of Congress who have labeled Snowden a traitor, have eroded his hope for a fair trial.

On NBC's "Today" show Friday, Lon Snowden said there's been a concerted effort by some members of Congress to "demonize" his son.

Lon Snowden and his lawyer, Bruce Fein, released a letter Friday asking Obama to dismiss the criminal charges against Edward Snowden and to support legislation "to remedy the NSA surveillance abuses he revealed."

The elder Snowden and Fein said they were disgusted by Holder's letter Friday to Russian officials promising that Snowden would not face the death penalty if he were extradited. They said it reflects a mindset that Snowden is presumed guilty and that a sentence of 30 years or life would be a reasonable punishment.

In the phone interview with AP, Lon Snowden said he has had no direct contact with his son, and knows no more about his son's day-to-day life in Moscow, where he is reportedly staying at an airport transit zone, than anyone else.